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Policeman Suspended Amid Criminal Investigation

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Policeman Suspended Amid Criminal Investigation

An Icelandic policeman has been removed from his job for allegedly breaching the privacy of members of the public.

The office of the chief of police in Reykjavík has suspended one of the force’s officers after his unusual use of the police computer system, which holds lots of personal information about thousands of people and is subject to strict access rules, came to light. An investigation is said to be underway.

According to mbl.is, the computer system in question is called LÖKE. The policeman was arrested before Easter, while he was at a summerhouse in the countryside, and at least two other men were later arrested in connection to the case. The men are believed to be friends of the policeman. None of the suspects has been held in custody.

The case was put to the state prosecutor’s office, which in turn delegated the investigation to the Suðurnes police. The Reykjavík police force could not investigate itself.

The case centers on information security, access to very personal information, corruption and crime within the police force – and the story is therefore being closely followed in Iceland.

Helgi Magnús Gunnarsson, deputy state prosecutor, and Stefán Eiríksson, chief of police in Reykjavík both refused to comment on the case.

UPDATE 29.04.2014:The other two men arrested are said to be a lawyer and an employee of the telecommunications company, Nova. The lawyer has been suspended from his post, just like the policeman has, but the Nova employee has been sacked.